Shame on You by Tara Sivec

shame on youNarrated by Amy McFadden

If you’re in the mood for quick, light fun, a listen to Shame on You by Tara Sivec should hit the spot!

Kennedy O’Brien is tough a la Stephanie Plum. She’s a bounty hunter, Army vet who served in Afghanistan, and newly-divorced mom to two girls. Kennedy and two of her girlfriends started Fool Me Once Investigations to find rat bastards like her ex-husband Alex whom she caught cheating with the nanny.

Kennedy’s latest case is an absurd, alien-believing, dog-napping bail jumper. Only nabbing this bad guy turns out to be not as easy as she thinks. Kennedy is forced to compete and then work with her ex-husband’s best friend, Griffin Crawford.

Hunky Harley-riding Griffin is Kennedy’s “the one that could have been.” She had a crush on him in high school but she was already dating Alex; when she became available, Griffin had a girlfriend. The timing never worked. Instead, Kennedy, her ex, and Griffin served together in the Army and were best friends. Believing Griffin condoned Alex’s cheating, Kennedy feels betrayed by Griffin as well. They haven’t been friendly for six months. Of course this turns out to be a misunderstanding. Not only that, Griffin has had a major thing for Kennedy for 18 years. Griffin is deliciously relentless in using this bail-bond case as a chance to finally make Kennedy his.

If you’ve read and enjoyed Tara Sivec, be warned Shame on You is not as raunchy and wet-your-pants laugh-filled as her Chocolate books. The first book, Seductions and Snacks, was so memorable that any commercial for Arby’s Beef even now makes me cringe and laugh.

Still Shame on You is Tara Sivec’s voice, irreverent and funny with a side of romance, and entertainingly narrated by Amy McFadden. It’s short (138 pages in print), leaving the listener feeling it ended abruptly. But Ms. McFadden’s performance doesn’t feel rushed. Her pacing is perfectly timed to the comedic humor of the story. Her delivery is lively, conveying the silliness. She seamlessly segued from one hilarious chase scene to another, from girlfriends being drunk and snarky together to steamy sex scenes. I think I would have enjoyed the novel a lot less in print than I did the audio version.

Ms. McFadden generally gives distinct voices to the cast of characters. The secondary characters remind me of the quirky crew in early Janet Evanovich (circa1990s) novels. There’s Kennedy’s meddling family, awesome girlfriends, a hairdresser straight from Central Casting, and the ex reliving his youth by dating barely-legal cheerleaders. Oh, and there’s the perp named McFadden (coincidentally named the same as the narrator) and TinkerDoodle the Poodle.

For a well-narrated short and funny listen, I recommend Tara Sivec’s Shame On You narrated by Amy McFadden.

Megan


Narration: B+

Book Content: B-

Steam Factor: For your burning ears only

Violence: Minimal (cussing involved)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

 

 Shame on You was provided to AudioGals for review by Brilliance Audio.

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